Women Who Trust Make Better Lie Detectors

New research from the University of Toronto says that individuals who are more trusting of others—so, basically, the people you might think get conned more often—are actually better at detecting lies.

"People high in trust were more accurate at detecting the liars—the more people showed trust in others, the more able they were to distinguish a lie from the truth," explained research results published in the current Social Psychological and and Personality Science journal.

Whileprevious research has studied the relationship of mood and trust, this is the first to show these unexpected results. While most of us have people in our lives we don't really, truly trust, these good-natured individuals seem to do a better job of surrounding themselves with rock-solid peers. Most likely because they go with their gut.

"People who trust others are not pie-in-the-sky Pollyannas, their interpersonal accuracy may make them particularly good at hiring, recruitment, and identifying good friends and worthy business partners," explain co-authors Nancy Carter and Mark Weber.

The moral: The more you trust, the fewer liars you'll have in your life.

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